Fanfic challenge
by nscangal
Summary: A series of drabbles or short fics based on themes.
1. Beginnings

Fanfic100

Beginnings:

Even as a newborn, Touya Akira had been a beautiful child, in his parents' unbiased opinion. His eyes, blue as any newborn's would soon turn the blue-green he would have for life, and his hair was already the black it would be as he got older.

He'd been a quiet baby, too. Other parents would exclaim over how little fuss he made, how calm he was.

So long as one of his parents held him, that is. They learned very quickly that Akira wouldn't tolerate being held by anyone else, and they very quickly gave up trying. The poor baby would be inconsolable, crying hysterically long after his parents had reclaimed him. He didn't much like being laid down alone for a nap, either.

But with his parents, he wouldn't utter a sound.

As he grew older, the boy quickly developed a strong attachment to his father. Despite his overwhelming physical resemblance to his mother – both shared delicate features that made some people mistake the young Akira for a girl – there quickly became no doubt which parent Akira would take after in adulthood. Even before he could walk, he was fascinated by the go stones, and as he grew, he learned very quickly that if he was quiet and observant, he would be allowed to watch his father study and play.

The result of this was somewhat two-sided – on one hand, Akira's father took great pride in that his son was beginning to show the love for the game that he himself had. On the other hand, Akira's naturally quiet demeanour, coupled with his added motivation to stay quiet so he could watch his father meant that Akira spoke late.

Akira's mother worried that her son was "behind" the other children. Her parents and Koyo's own, however, were quick to point out that in all other areas, he was on par, if not ahead of, other children. They suggested it was just some personal oddity, and that he would get over it with time.

"He'll talk when he's ready," Akira's grandparents said. "He's not a stupid boy. He probably just doesn't want to yet."

It was a source of great amusement to Akira's father and consternation to his mother that his first words, when he finally spoke shortly before his third birthday, were, "Can I play go, Father?"


	2. Akira's Go

HnG belongs to Hotta and Obata.

Prompt: Middles

Akira's Go

Akira would occasionally wonder what happened to some of the children he used to play at his go school. There had been another boy, a few years older and with good potential. He wasn't and would probably never be up to Akira's own level, but that wasn't unusual. Akira had never met another kid his age who could match him in go.

The older boy had quit going just a few months before Akira's father had decided the boy had outgrown the class. He had stopped coming after the day Akira had thrown a game to him, allowing the older boy to win for once. Akira couldn't understand why – he'd given Kaga what he'd wanted, hadn't he?

When he'd been younger, Akira had been thrilled at being so much better at go than other kids his age. He'd been proud that he could match – and often best – kids several years older. By the time he'd thrown his match to Kaga, he could even beat most adults. It was around then that Akira came to realize that ability in go and age are not correlated in the least, and he began to feel a little less proud and a bit more discontent at being so much better than anyone else.

Akira's father must have felt his son's go losing momentum as the boy searched blindly for what he was missing. Touya Koyo was as unhappy as his son, though he at least knew why. Akira had no one to balance him. There was nobody near his age who could be a peer. As Japan's best go player, Touya Koyo could understand that feeling all too well – something fundamental was missing for both father and son.

As Akira came once more into his go salon, a bright smile on his face hiding the terrible loneliness Koyo knew the boy must feel, Koyo wondered what was to become of Akira. He would never reach his peak unless he had someone to push him – a peer, a rival to motivate him to work that much harder and reach that much farther. Without that, he would lose motivation and stagnate, perhaps burning out beyond repair before the others his age caught up.

What was to become of Akira's go?


End file.
